Discomforted
by tielan
Summary: The leader of the Atlantis expedition contemplates the newest addition to her company. What is she going to do with John Sheppard?


**NOTES**: This is an AU. It may not initially make sense.**  
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**Discomforted**

Teyla Emmagen was not looking forward to this discussion.

It wasn't that he discomforted her - not at all. It was simply that mere condolences seemed inadequate after everything he had lost. His people, his planet, his way of life - everything he'd known, everything he'd hoped to return to during those years on the run - gone, destroyed by the Wraith.

And she wasn't sure she liked the way he looked at her.

"_You should talk to him," the Colonel said just that morning, pushing back his chair at the table so he could stretch out his legs without tangling them up with hers. The gossip was rife enough through the base as it was without them being caught playing footsies in the mess hall. "Actually, you should see him in action!" It was unusual for the Colonel to fire up so completely about anything, but the enthusiasm had startled her from her morning toast and coffee._

"_I take it his prowess is impressive?" Her gentle innuendo received a hard look from him, but she already overheard the speculation that morning in the shower stalls - and it wasn't about the Satedan man's skill in fighting. Apparently he'd already made a good impression on the women of Atlantis._

"_He's a natural - weapons, hand-to-hand, tactics. And ex-military."_

_He spoke as though being 'ex-military' was a benefit. Teyla privately considered all the trouble the military had given her during this expedition and wasn't so eager to add another military man to the passel she already commanded._

"_We do not know anything about him."_

_Colonel Dex wasn't deterred. She wasn't sure why she'd thought he might be. "He's got nowhere else to go," he said._

"_So this is charity?" Now she was provoking him - and they both knew it._

_One thick, dark brow quirked at her. "If you think charity is taking on a guy who'd be a valuable addition to my team," he said, adding, "And you should talk to him."_

"_Why?"_

"_Maybe because you owe it to him?"_

"I_ owe it to him?"_

"_Okay, _we_ owe it to him, and you're the leader." His smirk almost earned him a kick beneath the table._

So here was Teyla waiting just outside the gym for John Sheppard to finish sparring with the marines so she could speak to him about his future in Atlantis.

There were other troubles in the city - chiefly Carson's supposed mind-melding with the botanist Dr. Brown and the attempt to get her back into her body.

Teyla had her hands full as it was, persuading the workaholic astrophysicist that he was not thinking clearly with the addition of Dr. Brown in his head, while simultaneously resisting the urge to smack Atlantis' chief medic for his cynicism regarding Carson's ability to sort the problem out.

Then Ronon had asked her to vet this John Sheppard for Atlantis.

If nothing else, it was a change from listening to the arguments taking place in the infirmary - much to the dismay of the nursing staff. There was no doubting Dr. Rodney McKay was better than qualified for the expedition, but he was not the most soothing of medical practitioners - even at the best of times.

She appraised Sheppard from the doorway, trying to see in him the qualities of which Ronon had commended. They were not hard to see - the man had drive and passion. Even if it was nothing more than a burning hatred for the Wraith and what they had done to him and his homeworld, it might be that he would be a valuable addition to the people in Atlantis.

And he _was_ truly a good fighter. Teyla was not military trained, but she'd learned some physical skills during her time as a negotiator on Earth, and a year in Atlantis, among military men and women, had taught her to recognise the competence of which Colonel Dex had spoken.

Specialist John Sheppard of Sateda was competent and more than that. He moved with a lithe grace as he showed the marine the moves to disarm an opponent in slow-time. "It's all in the reflexes," he told the man. "You need to practise."

The marine who'd just been disarmed nodded his head, smiling. "Cool. Will do."

Teyla was impressed. Many of the military groups were insular and cohesive; as a general rule they disliked outsiders who came in and beat them on their own territory, and yet it seemed that John Sheppard had managed to get them to accept not only his skill in hand-to-hand but also his presence among them.

"Sheppard," she said as the marine went back to the edge of the mat and before the next man could step out. "Might I speak with you?"

He turned, looking slightly surprised. "Sure, Dr. Emmagen." With a nod at the marines, he handed over his knife, grabbed for a towel and slung it around his neck before approaching her. "Here or in the corridor?"

"The corridor," said Teyla. She had no desire for an audience, however well-intentioned.

It surprised her when he paused beside her and gestured to the corridor, asking her to precede him. In DC, such gallantries were customary, in Atlantis, not so much; from a man who'd been seven years on the run from the Wraith, it was very surprising.

To cover her confusion, she dismissed the pleasantries that she would usually use for such a conversation and went straight to the point. "Colonel Dex has mentioned the possibility of you staying in Atlantis and joining his team," she began.

Sheppard shrugged as he turned on his heel to face her. "Yeah, he asked earlier." Here in the corridor, he seemed to loom larger than he'd appeared in the golden light of the gym - only a few inches taller than she, but with more than enough power for his lean frame and lithe body. "What's wrong? You don't think I'm good enough?"

"It has nothing to do with your skill," she said immediately. It was hedging, but she didn't think he knew that. "I realise the city is new to you--"

Another shrug. It seemed he was fond of them. "I'm getting pretty used to it. You people are friendly."

His inflections implied a criticism that confused Teyla. "You do not trust us?"

"I don't know you," Sheppard said. Teyla found it ironic that the argument she had planned to use against him was just as blunt a weapon when it was wielded by the other side. Then she blinked as the Satedan gave her a very open, very plain appraisal. "Although that can be changed if you're willing."

The invitation was clear - and shocking. As the leader of the expedition, Teyla had steered clear of the romantic entanglements or attractions that had presented themselves, whether from among the military portion of the expedition - such as Ronon, or from among the scientists of Atlantis - such as Carson Beckett.

To some degree, she was sacrosanct from such interest. A leader should be impartial - or at least, be seen to be impartial. How could her leadership be trusted that if she was romantically involved with one of the men she was supposed to be guiding on this expedition?

In the darker corridor, she could only hope that her blush wasn't visible. "_We_ are willing," she said, the faint stress making it clear that she was speaking of the whole expedition and not merely herself. He might be attractive, but so were other men - and she had not jumped into any of _their_ beds as yet. "Colonel Dex has expressed an interest in your skills - although he should not have spoken to you until we had talked about it."

"He talks?" There was a glimmer of humour in the older man's eyes. "Sorry. But he doesn't seem very chatty."

There were times when Teyla considered silence to be very golden. For instance, it was a welcome relief after she'd visited the infirmary to consult with Rodney on a medical matter threatening Atlantis. "He says what is needful," she pointed out.

"Basic conversation can be needful," Sheppard said. Then his mouth quirked slightly, took on a smile that left an odd feeling in her belly as he eyed her again. "Or not."

She was not easily flustered, but the open interest he was showing disconcerted her. "Well," she said, ignoring both his comment and the smile that grew on his face as she turned the conversation, "A discussion about your joining his team was needful before he made you an offer."

"So you don't approve?"

"I did not say that."

"So I'm in, then?"

This man seemed to take delight in needling her. It was deliberate; Teyla was sure of that. There was a wicked gleam to the hazel eyes - a sly awareness of her discomfort with him, as well as the reason why. She sensed that he was pleased to be found attractive - as would any man.

"I will consider that."

If he was discomforted by the realisation that his stay in Atlantis depended on her say-so, he didn't show it. "You should do that."

"I will."

He watched her. She watched him back.

"Well, I will leave you to the marines," she said, feeling like an idiot. Over a decade of experience at diplomacy in the volatile Middle East and the war-torn African states, and a displaced refugee who'd been seven years out of civilised company managed to turn her into a _gauche_ young woman.

She promised it would not happen again.

"You could join us," Sheppard suggested as she turned away.

Teyla thought he was joking. "Why?"

Another lazy appraisal. "Why not?"

There were so many answers to that and she could not go through them all in the space of a few moments. "I do not--" She shook her head. "Thank you, but no."

"Maybe another time? I do private lessons if you're worried about the audience."

Teyla gave him full marks for persistence, even if she took some away for suspect teasing. "Thank you, Specialist Sheppard, but--"

"It's just John Sheppard," he said, and now there was a brusqueness in his words. "I'm not a Specialist anymore. Just 'John'."

She was sorry to have reminded him of what he'd lost. It made her a little more conciliatory. "Thank you for the offer, _John_, but it will not be necessary." His name felt uncomfortably intimate in the corridor, and she smiled with careful politeness. "I will speak with you later."

"Anytime you like." Pause. "Teyla."

To give him his due, nothing seemed to keep him down for long. Exasperation - and a tendril of awareness - bloomed again. Dr. Teyla Emmagen walked away from the gym and the newest resident of Atlantis. She could feel his eyes watching her down the corridor.

It wasn't that he discomforted her at all. It was simply that she didn't know what to do with this man.

Her brain provided an unhelpful illustration of what she _could_ do with him, and Teyla sighed to herself.

Well, other than _that_.

- **fin** -

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**: This was written for 'stargate reverse' - any AU where the roles of the characters are reversed while retaining their essential characterisation.

So, in this universe, the Atlantis expedition from Earth was led by Dr. Teyla Emmagen, with the military contigent led by Colonel Bernard Kell. When he died at the hand of the Wraith keeper, Major Ronon Dex took up command of the military portion of the expedition. Dr. Carson Beckett is the primary scientist on the expedition, Teyla finds his presence calming, particularly when trying to deal with Dr. Rodney McKay who's in charge of the infirmary at Atlantis. With the assistance of Elisse Betwyr - a Pegasus native that Major Dex encountered on his first foray out of the city, they go through the Stargate to make allies and seek ways to free the Pegasus from the threat of the Wraith. And they encounter John Sheppard of Sateda (his people were sheep farmers from the country, which earned him the surname in the Satedan forces) while hunting down a member of Colonel Dex's original team, Lieutenant Solen Sincha. (For those trying to place Solen in the regular universe, he's the friend Ronon went drinking with in 'Trinity'.)


End file.
